Topic: drones

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has proposed a set of rules that would restrict the use of drones in the sky, placing new qualifications on private enthusiasts and seemingly striking a serious blow to Amazon's airborne delivery plans.

Apple's Campus 2 mega-project is showing major progress in its "Spaceship" Ring, where interlocking concrete slabs are building a foundation for a steel structure that is already beginning to reach upward by four stories. The first massive parking garage is nearly finished and existing buildings have been demolished to make room for a second stage R&D site.

The latest video of Apple's Campus 2 mega-project shows major progress on both the "spaceship" ring and parking garage, with over a dozen massive cranes now at work on the site. A previous prototype segment has also been removed.

At a press event on San Francisco's Treasure Island, drone vendor DJI unveiled its new prosumer-class Inspire drone with 4K video capabilities and announced a new Software Development Kit to allow third party developers to write apps that work with its flagship Phantom 2 Vision flying cameras.

See the rapid progress being made at Apple's "spaceship" Campus 2 project site in Cupertino, California in our exclusive aerial tour of the site and the company's nearby existing Infinite Loop campus headquarters.

Not too far from Apple's Campus 2 project, a temporary structure is rising for the company's September 9 event, and new aerial shots captured by an amateur photographer using a flying camera drone offer a closer look at the mysterious white box that has generated considerable buzz.

As the name suggests, DJI's Phantom 2 Vision+ isn't much different than its predecessor, with the same exceptional flying capabilities as the last model. But the newfound "plus" for this drone is mostly found in its vastly improved camera and gimbal, which offers super-smooth recording capabilities from a bird's eye view.

As it nears the completion of a massively successful Kickstarter campaign, drone makers Helico Aerospace announced this week that their forthcoming AirDog drone -- which automatically follows users as they do things like wakeboarding or skiing -- will gain a new map-based obstacle avoidance system for safer flying.

French UAV maker Parrot on Monday unveiled two new additions to its consumer lineup, taking the wraps off of the Bebop drone -- featuring a 14 megapixel camera and 12 minutes of flight time -- alongside a physical controller accessory dubbed the Skycontroller.

This week is the annual National Association of Broadcasters show, where a number of Mac and iOS compatible products geared toward professionals have been unveiled, including new Thunderbolt 2 accessories, an upgraded DJI Phantom 2 Vision+ flying camera drone, and a plethora of 4K video recording and playing devices.

As one of the most popular iOS-friendly aerial camera platforms available, Parrot's AR.Drone has become a great example of what's possible within Apple's mobile ecosystem. AppleInsider was recently able to spend time with the second-generation version to see if it's worth the $300 price of entry.

With the iPhone-connected drone craze in full effect, AppleInsider decided to put to the test one of the most advanced, Apple-friendly prosumer aerial cameras available today: the DJI Phantom 2 Vision.